


Under The Hood

by drunkraiinbow



Series: Jason Todd Month 2019 [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, DCU, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, ArkhamVerse, Conner Kent is an idiot, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jason Todd Is Arkham Knight, Like, M/M, Mentioned Tim Drake, Metropolis boys, Single Parent Jason Todd, a lot of fluff, also, i guess, mentioned Roy Harper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-28 20:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkraiinbow/pseuds/drunkraiinbow
Summary: The Arkham Knight goes missing and Superboy starts investigating.But he's not prepared for what he'll find out about his favourite villain, nor the unexpected twist their relationship will take.





	Under The Hood

**Author's Note:**

> For the August - <strike>Birthday</strike> | Family | <strike>Roadtrip</strike> prompt of the [Jason Todd Month](https://jasontoddmonth.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.  
Beta-read by [GavotteAndGigue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GavotteAndGigue/)

There wasn't much information Conner had about the Arkham Knight other than the few bits he had gotten from Batman when the villain had first shown up in Metropolis – guns loaded with Kryptonite bullets and helmet lined with lead to prevent the Supers from figuring out their identity.  


The Arkham Knight was lethal. That had been Superboy's first lesson when the Arkham Knight had committed the first bank robbery in a series of many crimes. He didn't fight to wound, he fought to kill. And he was fucking good at it.  


The Arkham Knight knew what he was doing. He had been prepared to meet a Kryptonian in Metropolis and had gotten his hands on an impressive amount of Kryptonite to take them out easily. There was almost no fight without the glowing green stone and it was attached to all of his weapons and the thick body armor he was wearing. And yes, Conner knew the latter because he had touched the metal. More than once.  


The Arkham Knight was from Gotham. More specifically, from Arkham Asylum,and he had been captured by the freaky clown, who was finally dead. He was Joker's legacy, his gift to the world and definitely an annoying way to keep them busy. At least that was what Tim had told him behind Batman's back, because Joker's legacy had no reason to leave Gotham for Metropolis. Which left Conner with another conclusion.

The Arkham Knight was no longer controlled by the Joker or Arkham Asylum. He was operating on his own. Whatever plan he had gotten from Joker, the man had obviously ditched it for his own will. And Conner wasn't sure if that was better or worse.  


Then there were facts about the villain he had saved in his mind but could never tell anyone. Clark would scold him for even having them (And  _ he _ was the one insane enough to date Batman despite his No-Metas-Rule. Maybe Superman in Bruce Wayne's bedroom was an exception.)

The Arkham Knight was sassy and unconcerned about his own health – whenever Conner got in his way, he seemed more annoyed that he had to come up with a new plan than desperate or concerned.  


The Arkham Knight had a charming personality. He was fun to talk to when they were not trying to fight against each other and yes, he had once joked about having a picnic on the rooftops between two shots. Conner had argued it was difficult to eat with a helmet on and had gone for his stomach.  


The Arkham Knight always smelled amazing. Conner wasn't sure what after-shave he was using, but it was alluring. A perfect mixture of heavy musk and fresh fruit. It was hard to stay away from all the Kryptonite with that fragrance.

The Arkham Knight had been going easy on him for quite some time now. The Kryptonite still decorated his gear, but it had been months since the villain had actually used it against Conner. It was more like a dance now rather than a chase.

The Arkham Knight and Superboy had gotten closer. Somehow, they had started to look out for each other. Whenever the man showed up, Conner felt the excited tug in his belly, making him hold his breath. One day, when Conner was pushed out of the path of a car, he remembered the times where several trucks had hit him because the Arkham Knight had pushed him on the road.  


But most importantly:

The Arkham Knight was missing for almost a month now. 

* * *

Sitting in a tree in the middle of a playground in his Superboy costume while he was hiding in plain sight, hoping that the kids and parents wouldn’t look up to catch the hero between the branches was definitely not one of Conner's prouder moments. The leaves were barely covering the vibrant colors of his suit, but at least the leather jacket and the black boots didn't stand out against the natural green.  


He would never be able to tell his friends what he was doing right now. After another day without his favourite antagonist, Conner had decided it was enough. It wasn’t usual for the Arkham Knight to disappear for such a long period. Maybe he was planning something big, or maybe he had been killed by someone?

But Kon knew that wasn’t entirely true. Kon had heard his heartbeat in the past and would remember it always. When he focused his hearing enough, he was able to search for it and follow the beating over a great distance. And yes, the heart was still beating, but its owner nowhere to be seen.  


So Kon had done what every decent hero would have: he concentrated on the heartbeat and followed it through half of the city, not sure what exactly was going on in his mind. And well, that had ended with him in a tree on a playground, where he was staring down at a young man innocently sitting on a bench.  


It was a gorgeous man, no older than 21 but ripped, especially in that tight shirt, which complimented his broad shoulders nicely. His black, messy hair had a white streak in it, his face was masculine but also pretty with full lips and the greenest eyes Kon had ever seen. He imagined getting held by those big, calloused hands for a moment and blushed before his eyes went down to his  _ thighs  _ and–   


He almost fell out of the tree.  


The thing was, Conner was absolutely certain that the sex on legs down there was the Arkham Knight. He had the same heartbeat, the same after-shave and, after checking with his x-ray vision, also the ugly scar Kon had left on his arm during one of their earlier fights. Though he didn’t want to think about the other scars covering his trained body.

Still, the hero couldn’t wrap his mind around the Arkham Knight sitting on a playground, obviously focused on the children playing on the climbing monkey bars and swings. He was concentrating, his piercing eyes fixed on one of the girls playing catch under the trees, elbows propped on his thighs and leaning forward.  


The Arkham Knight was either going to kill or kidnap one of the girls, and Conner wasn’t sure which option was worse. He was obviously able to shield the girl in time, but even thinking about the possibility of a harmed kid made him gulp.

He pressed his lips together and was still debating what he should do when it happened. One of the girls – she was adorable with big eyes and red hair and the cutest dress he had ever seen – tripped and fell to the ground, pink fabric meeting grass. Kon was about to leave his post and speed down to check on her, but as he turned his head to the Arkham Knight again for a quick check, the bench was empty.  


A second later, he could already hear a deep, but clear and gentle toned voice, voice talking to the sobbing girl. Kon would only blink in surprise at the sight.  


“Lian, babygirl, it’s alright. Don’t cry, please. I’m not mad at you, that just happens sometimes. Shh, baby. Tell me where it hurts.”

The girl, Lian, was curled up in the strong arms and was still sobbing when she held out her palms to show the --- and Conner watched in awe how the intimidating man blew softly at the red skin and stroked his big hands over her hair, cupping her cheeks carefully.  


With both hands around the branches, Conner held himself upright in the tree, the ability to fly long forgotten.

"It's going to be alright, baby. Wanna wash your hands and clean the grass and dirt away? We can cool it a bit before we go home and get balm on it."  


"I wanna go home, Jason," she whined and looked at the edge of crying. "Dun wanna stay here."  


"On our way, babygirl."  


The Arkham Knight – Jason – wrapped his arms around Lian and smiled at the girl while he picked her up and pressed her small body to his chest. She slung her tiny arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder as he started walking, carrying her away.  


Conner sat still on the branch and followed the pair with his gaze, not believing what he had just witnessed. He would need to observe  _ Jason _ further and see if he had truly uncovered his secret identity, but the Arkham Knight was a father?  


He had seen the man killing without hesitation, he had seen the cold-hearted shots and punches, the hate that the villain was carrying around and the carelessness of his actions. He had thought to confront the villain, but Kon now had to rethink his plans, but at the moment he didn't mind them going off the rails. He was more annoyed than concerned then.

He had also seen how carefully Jason had held his daughter minutes earlier, how concerned he had been when the girl had started sobbing and how desperate he had tried to soothe her. Jason loved Lian truly.  


Maybe she was the reason he had changed. He didn't know why now after all this time, the girl was certainly older than three, but thinking about it, he actually didn't mind. Everyone deserved some happiness.

Conner sighed and rolled his shoulders before he stepped off the tree into the air. At some point, Jason would make him fall out of a tree for real. 

* * *

He kept following them around.  


It was an easy matter once he committed the heartbeat to his memory and followed the strong thuds around the city, locating the man and his beautiful daughter. Jason was rather striking with his red hoodie and the white streak in his hair. Sometimes, he had sunglasses sitting on his nose, on other days he was carrying an umbrella while Lian jumped through the puddles and giggled at his annoyed but still fond looks.  


Kon learned a lot about the small family as well. Jason had only become a single dad recently. He was struggling quite often, not knowing how to handle Lian’s tantrums. She was getting angry a lot, demanding to see her dad, and Jason looked lost for a moment, obviously struggling to find the right words.  


“I miss him, too. It’s not easy, baby, but we’ll try to make him proud and make it work, somehow,” he told her once. “Until… he’s coming home to us.”  


“But when?” Lian asked, tears forming in the corner of hear eyes.  


Jason brought her to his chest, holding her tight while she started crying in his hoodie, nestling with the red fabric with her tiny hands. Kon was watching from behind a bush, but the expression in his eyes didn’t make it easy resisting the urge to hug both of them.  


“He’s on a mission, remember?” Jason whispered in her hair. “But he’ll come back. I promise.”

Kon doubted Jason was telling the truth. Something must have happened to his boyfriend – or husband? he wasn’t wearing a wedding band – that wouldn’t let him come back soon. Jason was talking about a mission. Was he– had he been a villain as well? A vigilante or a hero?  


Frantically, Kon tried to recall if someone was missing or fallen. Nightwing was currently not around, Flash was on and off Earth-1 and of course, Superman was somewhere but not here. But Nightwing was very much involved with Starfire, Flash wasn’t interested in men and Superman had only eyes for Batman.  


Other times, he found Jason very much in charge of the situation. The man could comfort Lian within seconds and made her smile with small but well-known gestures. He bought her an ice cream without needing to hear her question, he followed her up the climbing playground set, making sure she wouldn’t fall, and he kept a watchful eye on her whenever she wandered off with friends, smiling at her when she turned to make sure he was still there.  


It took Kon a week until he followed them home for the first time. By now he had already watched Jason bringing her to a private school and walking to the different playgrounds and parks of New Troy. He had suspected he would find them in a safehouse not far away, maybe an abandoned warehouse or a building waiting for demolition.  


He had not, however, expected them to live in a big apartment right next to Centennial Park. The rent must have cost a fortune, especially with the perfect view they had over the park through the big glass windows. Then again, Jason was the Arkham Knight. He was surely rich.  


From then on, Kon was often lurking on the roof of a nearby house, hoping to stay out of sight. His x-ray vision did a great job staking out the small family. Kon was also able to hear them and for once he was glad that people usually didn’t choose tap-proof glass for their apartments. He was quite fond of the goodnight stories Jason told Lian before kissing her forehead and tucking her in.  


Jason was an excellent father to Lian, he had to admit, despite being a villain,but what did his job really tell about the person behind the mask? Certainly not that the Arkham Knight was in a relationship with another man in their line of business.  


He felt a sudden sting in his chest. The flirting. At least it had felt like that, but that hadn’t been real. Kon bit down on his lip and turned his eyes away from the apartment to take off into the night sky. He didn’t know how he was supposed to feel anymore.

* * *

“You better get your ass out of my sight or I’ll shoot you for real this time, fucking Ordinaryboy!”

Startled by the sudden anger in Jason’s voice, Kon snapped his head around and stared at the blue eyes apearing him from the ground with ferocity. This time, he fell out of the tree.  


“You think I’m stupid!? I know you’ve been following me! You’re not as subtle as you thing with the whole flying stuff you’ve got going on,” Jason continued growling at him, face illuminated by the street lanterns. “And you’re a fucking disgrace when it comes to hiding. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice someone scaring all the birds on my neighbor’s roof or in a goddamn tree right in front of my house?"  


A gun was aimed at his head. He didn't need to look through the metal to know that the bullet was made of Kryptonite. Kon gulped and raised his arms, trying to calm Jason somehow. It felt different than the thousand times this had happened before. And it was different.  


Jason gritted his teeth. "Are you stalking me? I've never used your secret identity against you, Conner Kent. Tell me if that was a mistake."  


"It's not like that," Kon tried to explain, heart racing while he tried to de-escalate the situation and understand what Jason had called him at the same time.  


_ Jason knew his name _ .

“What is it then?” Jason snarled and narrowed his eyes, making Kon shiver. The gun was still pointed at his temple, held in a firm grip that made Jason’s knuckles turn white.  


Kon gulped again and tried to ignore it. “I was trying to find you because I was worried!”  


“Worried, about me?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, staring helplessly at Jason’s bright, angry eyes. “You didn’t show up for a whole month. I thought something had happened and I tried to follow your heartbeat and–”

“That’s sick. And not in a good way.” Jason snorted and rolled his eyes, pressing the cool metal of the barrel against his skin. “You’ve been stalking me. What the fuck!?”  


Incredulously, Kon blinked and shook his head. Oh no, he didn’t.  


“You’ve been flirting with me since our second fight despite having a fucking boyfriend and a daughter at home and you tell me I'm sick? And I've been stalking?” Kon new he was getting louder, but he didn’t care. “I thought it was real! I thought you genuinely liked me and the fights were just our thing. You brought me food for fucks sake, and you had a family behind my back all along!”

He was panting when he had finally spoken his last word, looking into wide eyes. Jason was quiet for a long moment and Kon was intrigued by the way he was nervously biting his lip, seemingly unaware of the action.  


When he spoke again, he sounded a lot more quiet than before.  


“You think I'm dating someone?”  


The gun was lowered and disappeared behind Jason’s back before the man rolled his eyes with a tiny smile on his lips. “I'm not. And Lian is not my daughter, for the record. Her dad is my best friend. I’m her godfather.”  


It took a second to process Jason's words into actual information and understand what he had just told Kon. He blinked at the man in front of him as if he was staring at a hallucination, but Jason was still smiling.  


"That's…" Kon cleared his throat, "that's real? You're not shitting me?"  


Jason shook his head. "I'm not."  


"And it's," he tried to clarify and broke off, trying to find the right words.  


Jason was look at him with patience.

"Is it just me or… were you really flirting with me?"  


The next heartbeat felt like years while Jason had a blank expression on his face, making Kon squirm intentionally under the pressure he felt. And then, Jason blinked and tilted his head in the cutest way possible, before he raised his brows.  


"Who said I've ever stopped?"

* * *

It was several weeks later, that Kon was sitting on a rooftop, a big bag of burgers right next to him, waiting for Jason to show up. He was dressed in his Superboy uniform, had the leather jacket laying next to him on the flat roof while he listened to the soft mumbling coming from Jason a few blocks away while the other was grappling his way up to Kon.

After the initial awkwardness, they were back to flirting, apparently. The Arkham Knight was still inactive and wouldn't be coming back any time soon, Jason had told him, but he didn’t mind joining Kon on lazy nights for a picnic and some talking. Kon had accepted happily. As far as he was concerned, Superboy and Arkham Knight could still hang out; even more so now that Jason didn’t need to plot against him anymore.  


Kon had also gotten to know Lian. She was a wonderful girl and the best godchild one could wish for. It was obvious that she loved Jason and trusted him with everything he did, and she wished for him to be happy, which made Kon think a lot about Jason’s situation for the next few days.  


Kon bit on his lip.

Today was special in many ways. Besides the food and some beer to relax (it didn’t affect Kon thanks to his Kryptonian metabolism, otherwise he wouldn’t be allowed to fly anymore; Superman’s rules), he also had a gift for Jason, neatly wrapped in a big box hidden behind the chimney. It was only fair to say Kon was nervous.  


By the time Jason flopped down next to him, feet dangling from the edge, Kon had had at least two panic attacks.  


"Looking good tonight," Jason smirked, shoulder bopping against Kon's. He was wearing a black domino mask, similar to the one Robin had. "But we should work on your facial expressions. Who died, Superduperboy?"

"You're an idiot."

Kon pulled a face before he pouted at Jason and punched him softly. Jason whistled but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he stretched to grab the bag of food and put his nose inside like a curious cat.  


"Burgers. Nice. And no fries? Afraid I'd have thrown them at stranger's heads again?" Jason snickered and took the first wrapped hamburger out of the bag, passing the rest to Kon.  


"It's one of the reasons," Kon admitted with a simple shrug that showed no sympathy, before he chose a chicken burger for himself and put the bag away. "But they also taste bad when they get cold."

Jason laughed. "Hence the throwing at people instead of eating."  


"Superboy shouldn't be seen harassing people," Kon whined weakly.  


It didn't convince Jason though. He snorted and bit into his burger and Kon followed his example. Kon had actually enjoyed being silly with a friend and not getting Tim's or Clark's annoyed gazes thrown at him. Jason was right not to trust him with that.   


They ate in silence with little interruptions from Jason telling him small anecdotes and Kon laughing at random people's noises from time to time. The more they met on rooftops, the more natural it felt to Kon. Surely, the Arkham Knight had been one of the most dangerous villains Kon had ever faced, but Jason was so  _ different _ , despite all the similarities they shared.  


Their knees touched at some point. Kon looked up from his fifth chicken burger and caught Jason's warm gaze that wandered over his face before the other locked eyes with him. Jason bumped his knee against Kon's for a second time and smiled sheepishly at Kon.  


"Tell me about your day," he demanded before he tilted his head to the side and added, "please?"  


Kon blew air out his cheeks. Thinking about his day was quite depressing actually. He had spent half of the time listening to Jason and Lian from afar, had missed a few instructions from Clark due to his distraction and gotten into deep trouble by Superman himself when Clark had finally figured him out.  


"A bunch of incidents all around the planet and a bit of school with Lex," Kon shrugged instead. "You know, just the usual. What about you? Lian alright?"

Jason snorted, brows raised.

"Don't you know that already? I'm pretty sure you're listening to us all the time."

Kon tried to roll his eyes, but he still blushed. Jason snickered even more and wiggled his eyebrows, before he grabbed the last burger and bit into it with a soft growl.

"So, what's wrong with you today?" Jason said with a full mouth between two bites, not caring about manners at all. "You're awfully quiet. Something's off. What is it?"

Kon watched him finish the burger within a few seconds, almost as if he wasn't chewing it at all, just chunking down the big bites he took. Hungry boy. Maybe he should've gotten more food, but they had both eaten a lot.

Only when Jason had crumpled the wrapping paper and thrown it back into the bag, Kon cleared his throat.  


"I've got something for you."  


Jason blinked confusedly when Kon managed to hover a few inches over the roof and float towards the chimney. He blinked even more at the gift box Kon managed to bring back and set down in front of Jason. It was a black box, wrapped with a nice silver band that had a big bow on top of the box, and Jason poked at it suspiciously.  


Kon laughed quietly and interrupted Jason with a short eyeroll before he could even say something about the present. He was so freaking excited and nervous at the same time, that he was either going to throw up or explode. He hoped it wasn't the latter.  


Jason grumbled that he didn't need presents but opened the gift anyway. He cut the band with his knife, opened the cardboard lid and pushed it open to glance inside.  


Kon saw the exact second Jason froze; when his gaze fell onto the chest emblem of a high quality body armor Kon had requested from none other than Lucius Fox himself, tailor of the Bats.  


Jason could still use the tactical suit of the Arkham Knight, but the thick armor plates would need to be replaced by the new ones Lucius had made. They had a faint red shimmer on them, matching the red camouflage of Jason's pants.  


And then, there was a brand-new red helmet that Tim had put together, upgrading it with a heads-up display and more sensors than Kon could never remember. It was specially fitted to Jason's head and had his iris scans remembered to avoid false use.  


"You already have a leather jacket so that's not included, but I thought it would upgrade your old uniform," he explained and tried to smile at Jason when he caught his gaze.

"Why?" was all Jason was going to ask. Kon didn't need to look down at his hands to know that he stroked the new, scratchless emblem on the front.

A geometric bat with a body of an arrow. An arrow like the ones Arsenal had used until a few months ago.

"You were a bat once," Kon started with the easy part of this story. "Tim told me a few bits and I figured out the rest."  


That was actually true. Not his fault that everyone seemed to constantly underestimate him.  


"And the arrow?" Jason asked silently. He couldn't look away from the emblem.  


"I know that Roy is Lian's dad," Kon began, hesitating for a few seconds when Jason inhaled sharply. "He's your best friend. And you never told me that, but I know he's in the hospital."

Jason was silent for a moment. His lips were pressed together tightly while he nodded absently. Kon reached out to touch his shoulder, afraid he had said the wrong thing, but Jason stopped his hand mid-air and caught it in a firm grip, as if he was holding onto him.  


"Do you know why?"  


Kon gulped. His voice was soft when he answered. "An… an overdose."

"He's comatose," Jason whispered. "They don't know if he'll ever wake up again. If Lian will ever see her dad again. I'm trying my best to make this work, to be the godfather Lian deserves, but it's not the same without Roy."

When Jason's voice died, Kon wrapped his arms around Jason's shoulders, leaning against his body from behind. He could feel Jason's shaky breathing, could hear his fast heartbeat as he placed a hand over Jason's heart. They would work this out, together.  


Jason smiled and took a deep breath, leaning into Kon's embrace.

And then, he wiped away a single tear from his cheek and pulled the helmet out of the box to examine the polished surface. The design was based on the Arkham Knight's helmet, but without the pointy ears. Less dramatic, more intimidating.

Kon managed to chuckle softly and blinked at the young man when Jason turned his head to look at him.  


"Am I getting this right – you wanna make me into a vigilante?"  


"Superboy could use help from the Red Hood," Kon smirked sheepishly. "He's been distracted lately."  


"Partners in crime then?" Jason asked softly. His gaze flickered down to Kon's lips, showing him a tiny smile.  


"What about… partners in life?" Kon asked slowly raising his brows.

And with that, he pressed his lips onto Jason's, moaning happily when he felt Jason kissing him back.  


**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr.](https://drunkraiinbow.tumblr.com/)


End file.
